Little Brother - The Minstrel Show (September 13, 2005)

The North Carolina rap group Little Brother, which consists of rappers Big Pooh and Phonte, along with producer 9th Wonder, built up a cult following with their debut disc, The Listening, thanks to their song styles, which was a throwback to early A Tribe Called Quest and Pete Rock & CL Smooth. I also hold HipHopSite.com partially responsible for the group's rise, since they pimped the shit out of Little Brother after being tipped off by ?uestlove (from The Roots). At least, that was where I first heard of the trio.

Little Brother parlayed their success into a major label deal with Atlantic Records, a move that would become a huge fucking mistake, but hey, hindsight and whatever. As they set about creating their second album, The Minstrel Show, they kept their fanbase interested by releasing a mixtape and some side projects from themselves and their immediate posse, the Justus League. (The mixtape in question, The Chitlin Circuit, became so popular that Little Brother reconfigured it and officially pressed up retail copies, a move that would become a regular occurrence in their career.)

Now, with a title like The Minstrel Show, it should be obvious the direction Little Brother was going in. Although musically, nothing had changed with the group, the skits and prevalent theme on the disc held a subtle attack on how the music industry packages rappers and rap music (and, to a point, R&B), not unlike how Spike Lee attacked the entertainment industry with his Bamboozled (except Spike Lee is about as subtle as a sock full of rolled quarters striking you against the back of your head).

The problems started early on for The Minstrel Show. The title itself, upon its announcement, sparked an uproar in the hip hop community, especially among bloggers that apparently failed to comprehend what the word subtext meant. (This sort of reaction would reappear when Nas attempted to name his latest album N----r.) The nail in the coffin for The Minstrel Show, though, was when BET refused to air the video for the group's first single, "Lovin' It", because they considered it to be "too intelligent" for their audience. (First of all, that's insulting as shit, and I'm surprised BET still exists as a fucking channel after that bad PR, although since nobody outside of the blogging world has ever heard of Little Brother, that may be why they got away with it. Secondly, from what I understand, the video itself (which I've admittedly never seen, as I'm not the biggest Little Brother fan in the world) allegedly spoofs rap video cliches. Didn't The Roots do something similar with their "What They Do" clip? That video received a ton of airplay on Rap City!) After that debacle, Atlantic Records withdrew all of their promotional support for the disc, even opting against releasing a second single, leaving the project dead in the water.

Not surprisingly, nobody bought The Minstrel Show, and some internal conflicts within the group all but guaranteed that this would be the final time (for now) that Big Pooh, Phonte, and 9th Wonder would all work together for the span of an entire album. (It should be noted that 9th Wonder left the group amicably, and Pooh and Phonte still keep the Little Brother name alive.)

Let's see what went wrong.

1. WELCOME TO THE MINSTREL SHOW (FEAT YAHZARAH)
Well, at least this rap album intro sets the mood properly.

2. BEAUTIFUL MORNING
A fantastic reintroduction to the rhyme styles of Big Pooh and Phonte. 9th Wonder even sounds damn near inspired behind the boards, after the eighty-minute nap that was essentially The Listening.

3. THE BECOMING
I liked how Phonte ended the previous track prematurely just so he could spit solo over this beat instead. Sadly, this instrumental is only halfway decent, but lyrically, Phonte is engaging as shit.

4. NOT ENOUGH (FEAT DARIEN BROCKINGTON)
Uh oh. 9th's beat is reminiscent of the sleeping aids which dominated the debut album. As such, I couldn't care for this song if you put a gun to my head, a knife in my back, and crazy straws in my eyes.

5. CHEATIN'
Phonte brings out his Percy Miracles alias (along with a newer one, Mr. Diggs, a goof on Ron Isley's Mr. Biggs) for a ridiculous R&B track that's hilarious at first (with its emphasis on the overly dramatic), but grows less and less funny with each subsequent listen. If you treat this as an interlude, though, it's tolerable.

6. HIDING PLACE (FROM ELZHI)
I wasn't too impressed with Elzhi (from Slum Village) and his contribution, but otherwise, the music on here is pleasant enough.

7. SLOW IT DOWN (FEAT DARIEN BROCKINGTON)
This song is okay (although the vocals from Darien Brockington sound more generic on here than on "Not Enough"), but for Litte Brother, it's a giant step in the wrong direction.

8. SAY IT AGAIN
The lyrics on here are pretty fucking funny, but 9th Wonder is starting to run a cheese grater on my fucking nerves.

9. 5TH AND FASHION (SKIT)
...

10. LOVIN' IT (FEAT JOE SCUDDA)
The first single. I didn't care much for it back in 2005, but today, I'm willing to admit that I was wrong, since this track is smooth as hell. Kind of a weird choice for a first single, in my opinion, since The Minstrel Show was released on a major label, but whatever. BET should be fucking ashamed of themselves. But I have a feeling that I'm preaching to the choir, as none of my readers watch BET anyway, right?

11. DIARY OF A MAD BLACK DADDY (SKIT)
...

12. ALL FOR YOU
Although I have to comment on Little Brother's reliance on R&B hooks for The Minstrel Show and how it's bordering on co-dependence, I love this song. The reason why? 9th fucking Wonder's instrumental. You see, the guy clearly has talent, but I guess his stubborn nature often gets in the way. Kudos to Pooh and Phonte for knocking some sense into him, no matter how briefly.

13. WATCH ME
In contrast, I didn't care much for this shit at all, even with DJ Jazzy Jeff guest-scratching. However, 9th didn't actually produce this one (this song was handled by Justus Leaguer Khrysis), so I have to give him a pass.

14. SINCERELY YOURS
Rapper Big Pooh doesn't get as much exposure as Phonte, but that's because of Phonte's frequent blogging and his incessant need to release goofy-ass online side projects (see the Percy Miracles EP and Zo and Tigallo Love The 80s!), so it's nice that he gets his own time to shine, and he doesn't disappoint.

15. STILL LIVES THROUGH
Ostensibly a sequel to A Tribe Called Quest's "God Lives Through", right down to the fake-sounding-but-really-Busta Rhymes-vocal-sample on the hook. Easily the most energetic track on the entire fucking album, and my life is a little better for it.

16. MINSTREL SHOW CLOSING THEME (FEAT YAHZARAH)
Typical rap album outro, although most rap albums don't have their own theme music, so that was nice.

17. WE GOT NOW (FEAT CHAUNDON)
I was nonplussed with this "encore" song of sorts, although the almost-rant at the end is both funny and telling.

FINAL THOUGHTS: As stated before, my main problem with The Listening was with the production, not the rhymes: Big Pooh and Phonte are infinitely listenable as rappers. Producer 9th Wonder captivates for about half of The Minstrel Show, and falls back on old habits for the remainder, leaving the rappers to pick up the slack unfairly. While it's still not surprising that 9th Wonder was dropped from the crew, at least he proves that he is, in fact, capable of crafting a non-boring beat for his boys. The Minstrel Show is light years ahead of The Listening in sheer entertainment value.

BUY OR BURN? You should go pick this shit up. I had forgotten how good it sounded, bu there's no need for my two readers to make the same mistake. Go ahead and get it, I'll wait.

BEST TRACKS: "Still Lives Through" "Lovin' It"; "Say It Again"; "Beautiful Morning"; "All For You"; "Sincerely Yours"

-Max

RELATED POSTS:
Little Brother - The Listening